Driving down the Lowell-Snohomish River Road today I noted a Peregrine Falcon zooming overhead, across the road. Soon after, I saw it had come up behind me- now we were on a parallel track down the road. "Cool" I thought "now I can use my advanced 87 Toyota speedometer technology to clock this bird"! Recalibrating the data I was getting ( those roadside speed-o-meter signs tell me that my speedometer is about 3mph too fast) I found the Peregrine to be doing a steady 40mph without much apparent effort. In fact it broke into glides several times. Like it could yawn and do 40 at the same time.

Just down the road I spotted a male Kestrel on a power line. Always amazed at how colorful those guys are.

For the past two days there has been a flock of Trumpeter Swans right next to the Marsh Road just off to the West of hwy. 9. This late afternoon in the gathering gloom the Swans (around 150 to 200 of 'em) were particularly packed in together in a square- it looked like they were fenced -in, and this right next to a patch of post Halloween pumpkins. It almost looked like they were two patches of different crops, the orange pumpkins of fall on one side, and a nice winter crop of huge white Swans next patch over.
( this area just south and west of Snohomish airport - Harvey Field)

This morning was cold in north Everett and the sky over the Olympics clear. Going outside just a bit later, I could feel that wonderful sensation of the bottom falling out of the barometer. Yup, some November weather on the change.

Jeff Gibson
Everett Wa